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King's Theatre, 335 Bath Street, Glasgow

Glasgow Index

 

Above - The King's Theatre, Glasgow - From an early postcard - Courtesy Graeme Smith.

 

The King's Theatre, Glasgow. - Photo M.L.The King's Theatre in Bath Street, Glasgow was built by the renowned Theatre architect Frank Matcham at a cost of £50,000, and opened on the 12th of September 1904.

Right - The King's Theatre, Glasgow - Photo M.L.

Glasgow's Theatre Royal, birthplace of Howard & Wyndham Ltd, was so profitable that its chairman Michael Simons (who lived in Bath Street) advertised in 1901 for sites to build two more Theatres. Both were built in red sandstone by Morrison & Mason Ltd to the designs of Frank Matcham, the first to open being the Kings Theatre. The second opened a year later and was the Coliseum Theatre in Eglinton Street on the south side of the city, but operated by Moss Empires Ltd. The companies shared the same firm of secretaries at this time, and the directors ensured that competition would not be too close.

The King's Theatre, Glasgow during the run of Can-Can on the 13th of December 1955

Above - The King's Theatre, Glasgow during the run of Can-Can on the 13th of December 1955
- Courtesy Gerry Atkins

The auditorium of the King's Theatre, Glasgow in 2004 - Courtesy Roger Fox. The Auditorium of the King' Theatre, which was richly decorated in many different styles, something Matcham was famous for, was built on four levels consisting of Stalls and three Balconies, with a multitude of boxes on either side.

Right - The auditorium of the King's Theatre, Glasgow in 2004 - Courtesy Roger Fox.

The Theatre's entrance and foyers were also lavishly decorated and give a true sense of occasion, sadly lacking in many later Theatres.

 

 

The restoration of the King's Theatre Glasgow in 2009

 

Above - A Time Lapse Video showing the restoration of the King's Theatre Glasgow during its Summer closure in 2009. Further works are planned for the next four summers.

(You will need to have the Macromedia Flash Player plug-in installed to be able to view this Video)

The King's Theatre, which is Grade A Listed, currently has a capacity of 1,815, and is used primarily as a touring house.

You may like to visit the Theatre's own Website here...

Parts of the text on this page were kindly written for the site by Graeme Smith.